Sanitary pump closure



Sept. '2, 1941 c. L. ALLEN SANITARY PUMP CLOSURE Filed March 19, 1940 fiarles L filZg Patented Sept. 2, 1941 SANITARY PUMP CLOSURE Charles L'. Allen, Portland, Greg.

ApplicationMarcli 1-9, 1940, Serial'No. 3243829 5- Claims. (Cl. 137-111) My invention relates to sanitarypump closures.

The primary purposeand object of my pump closure is tomaintain the spout of the pump-in a sanitary conditi'on, and one in which the drip from the" spout will be maintained within the closure.

Heretofore in fountain pump spouts, the attendant at the fountain frequently breaks the drinking glass by the same coming; in contact with the metal spout. I provide anattachment for the spout that is made of a stretchable, highly compressible material, as live rubber, that may beremovably attached to the spout and againstwhichthe glassto be filled with the beverage-contacts; to thereby prevent normal breakage that occurs where the glass is brought into contact directly with: the metal, and as the glass contactsthe closure, the outer end-oftheclosure is raised, ,totherebyp-lace an opening within the closure immediately below the discharge end of the spout of the pump; to permit the beverage to flow directly from" the; pump spout into the glass; and when the beverage is removed from the pump spout into the glass, and when the glass-is removed from. the closure, the inherent resiliency 'ofthe closure shapes the opening'made by the glass in the closure shut, to prevent normal drip that occurs when the flow'of the fluid through the spout is stopped by the attendant.

In thepumping ofsyrups at the sodafountain, where'thetop surface of the syrup remaining in'the spout is exposed to normal air, oxidation-occurs in the form of the crystallizing of the syrup at the surface within the spout, which ifleft for a protracted period actually seals the syrup within the spout, to prevent free pumping thereafter. Through the use of my new and improved closure, this is retarded, if not entirely prevented.

Through the use of my new and improved closure, the breakage of the beverageglass is prevented. Drip eminating from the spout is prevented from flowing down the under side of the spout to attract flies and such objects thereto, and the closure being freely removable permits the maintaining of the closure in a highly sanitarycondition at all times.

The method of manufacturing the closures permits their pneumatic removal from the core of themould, to speed up production and to prevent damage tothe closure during the removal of the same from the curing mould in which the sameis formed.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and a preferred form of embodiment'of which" is hereinafter shown with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms. a' part of this specification.

In the drawing a Fig; I is a sectional side View of a soda'fountain pump spoutand-a sectional side" view of one of mynew and improved closures'shown in normal position upon the spout,'with the closure being shown. in its normal closed position.

Fig. II isa sectional side view'of the spout of the pump and a sectional side view or the closure illustrating the closure in open position and-being opened. bya beverage glass shown' in position for receiving the beverage therein,.and with the closure being opened by the-top edge of thebeverage glass.

Fig. III is asectionalv end view of the closure and. spout of thepump. This view was taken on line. 33 of Fig. 1-,. looking in thedirection indicated.

Fig. IV is a sectional endview of the assembly illustrated in Fig. I.. This View is taken on line 44 of Fig Llooking. in the direction indicated.

Fig. V is a fragmentary partially sectional endview of the core, upon which .the closure is molded in the production of the closure.

Fig. VI is a side view of. a slightly. modified form of closure and a fragmentary side view of the beverage glass disposed thereunder and. in position for normally opening thelclosure when upward and outward pressure'is applied to the glass.

( Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

I have shown in Fig. I my device as being applied to the spout lot the ordinary soda fountain pump, with the beverage to be dispensed being pumped through the inside of the spout, as illustrated atlA.

The spout I has a discharge opening 2' disposed in its outer end, through which the beverage to be dispensed flows. I provide a closure made of live rubber or other highly stretchable compressible material; The base-end of the closure !v has an opening disposed therein to tightly fit the base end of the closure to the outer surface of the spout I.

The outer end 5"of the'closure projects substantially beyond the outer-end of the spout I, and a wall 5A is formed within the closure and against which the outer end of the spout engages,

spout and to position a slit 53 that is formed upon the under side of the closure, and to place an opening in registry with the discharge opening 2 of the spout I.

In order to further aid in the closing of the slit 53, I may counterweight the outer end 5 of the closure, as illustrated at 6. I provide an enlarging ring I about the base end of the closure, and I provide a knob 8 on the under side of the closure and outward from and in spaced relation with the slit 5B.

In the normal use of the beverage glass, it may be made to engage the under side of the outer end 5 of the closure, or it may be made to engage the knob 8, as illustrated in Fig. II, and by applying upward pressure on the outer wall of the glass, the slit 5B is opened to permit the beverage to flow directly from the discharge 2 of the spout directly into the beverage glass.

When the diameter of the upper end of the beverage glass [5 is made of suitable dimensions,

the opposite walls of the glass adjacent its top end may bemade to engage the knob 8 and the band 7, to hold the adjacent'walls l3 and I3 of the slit spacedapart, as-illustrated in Fig. II, or the beverage glass may be placed as illustrated in dotted position in Fig. I, to actuate the closure and the slit 5Binto suitable open position.

It may befound desirable to also increase the cross-sectional area of the closure opposite to that of the slit 53, as illustrated at 5C, to further increase the resistance to the opening of the slit and to further increase the tendency for the slit to be closed when the beverage glass is removed.'

A pocket Hlis disposed within the closure and upon the under side into which the drip. if any, falling from the spout will gravitate and be retained within the closure when the .beverage glass i5 is removed. from placement.

It will benoted that Fig. III is taken on line 3-3 of Fig. I, looking in the direction indicated, and that substantial clearance, as illustrated at l6; will be disposed immediately below the discharge opening of the spout. Clearance is also provided at each side, as shown at ISA and I 63 between the side walls of the metal spout and the inside side walls oftlieclosure. The top side of the lip 16C. catches any drip falling from the spout and delivers the same into the portion l0 when the closuris in normal closed condition.

The purpose of increasing the area, as illustrated at I6, is to prevent any undue frictional resistance of the inside surface I 6C of the closure engaging the under side of the spout when the outer end 5 is raised. and the slit 5Bis opened to permit the discharge of the beverage into the receptacle disposed therebelow.

Added area is also made, as illustrated at H, to further reducefriction. By making the inside of the closure as shown at ILit also aids in the hinging action of the closure at that point. It will-be noted that Fig. IV is taken on line 4-4 of Fig. I, looking in the direction indicated.

It will alsobe notedthat the side wall of the closure 4 is made to extend down below the horizontal center line ofthe spout,'as.illustrated at I 8 and Hi, to aiIord a gripping action of the 010-.

sure to the side walls of the spout throughout the length of the spout, and to thereby prevent the drip-receiving'portion ID to be substantially in the clear with the under side of the spout.

In the. manufacture of these closures I havefound that'the, using of a core, as illustrated in;

a within the vent valve.

Fig. V in the rubber mold, is of great advantage in rapid production of the closures.

The body element 20 of the core is made substantially of the diameter of the spout to which the closure is to be attached, with the under side 2| compensating for the drip catch portion of the closure.

An air inlet fill 22 is disposed at one end of the core to permit the attachment of an air hose thereto, and a vent valve 23 is disposed in the opposite end of the core, and with a port 25 running longitudinally of the core in order that air may freely flow from the inlet 22 to the valve 23. At the time of the molding of the closure, the vent valve 23 is in retracted position within the core. I limit the movement of the vent valve 23 by placing a pin 24 in the core and through the shank end 26 of the vent valve, and I place a slit 2! in the vent valve, with the pin 24 passing through the slit 21. After the closure has been cured within the mold, air is admitted into the core under pressure, which forces the vent valve 23 outward to permit air to pass through ports 28 disposed This air passes out and around the core, to thereby relieve the finished closure from the mold and to eject the same from the core after the jacket of the mold has been removed.- v

In Fig. VI, I have shown a modified form of closure, and I have also shown an indicia at 3|, as Co-Cola, for indicating the syrup to be pumped through the closure as an aid to the soda fountain operator in knowing the particular syrup that is to be pumped through the closure in question. While I have shown the indicias as being Co-Cola, I do not wish to be lim ited to that one product, as the full line of syrups may be indicated upon the line of closures.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the embodiment herein shown and described,- as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming; within the scope of the claims which; follow.

What I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a onepiece body element of live rubber, said body element having an elongated recess extending the major portion of its length and open at one end to enable it to be fitted snugly to the spout of a soda fountain pump, a drip pocket disposed within said body element and opening, along its top side into the lower portion of said recess, a radially extending flange disposed about the openend of said body element, a transverse slit between the ends of said pocket and recess and extending through the bottom and side walls of said body element, a knob disposed upon the under side of said body element, said slit being disposed between the fiange and the knob to enable a beverage container to engage the knob and open the slit when upward pressure is applied to said container.

2. In a device of the class described, a onepiece body element of live rubber, said body element having an elongated recess extending the major portion of its length and open at one end to enable it to be fitted. snugly to the spout of a soda fountain pump, a drip pocket disposed Within said body element and opening, along its top side into the lower portion of said recess, a radially extending flange disposed about the open end of said body element, a transverse slit between the ends of said pocket and recess and extending through the bottom and side walls of said body element, a knob disposed upon the under side of said body element, said slit being disposed between the flange and the knob to enable a beverage container to engage the knob and open the slit when upward pressure is applied to said container, and a projection formed integral with the body element and projecting beyond the knob, said projection being counterweighted to aid in closing said slit.

3. In a device of the class described, a onepiece body element made of suitable stretchable material, said body element having an elongated recess extending the major portion of its length and open at one end to enable it to be fitted snugly to the spout of a soda fountain pump, a drip pocket disposed within said body element and opening, along its top side into the lower portion of said recess, a radially extending flange disposed about the open end of said body element, a transverse slit between the ends of said pocket and recess and extending through the bottom and side walls of said body element, and positioned in registry with the discharge outlet of said spout, a knob disposed upon the under side of said body element, said slit being disposed between the flange and the knob to enable a beverage container to engage the knob and open the slit when upward pressure is applied to said container, and a projection formed integral with the body element and projecting beyond the' knob, said projection being counterweighted to aid in closing said slit.

4. In a device of the class described, a onepiece body element made of suitable stretchable material, said body element having an elongated recess extending the major portion of its length and open at one end to enable it to be fitted snugly to the spout of a soda fountain pump, a drip pocket disposed within said body element and opening, along its top side into the lower portion of said recess, a radially extending flange disposed about the open end of said body element, a transverse slit between the ends of said pocket and recess and extending through the bottom and said walls of said body element, and positioned in registry with the discharge outlet of said body element, said slit being disposed between the flange and the knob to enable a beverage container to engage the knob and open the slit when upward pressure is applied to said con tainer, and a projection formed integral with'thebody element and projecting beyond the knob, said projection being counterweighted to aid in closing said slit.

5. In a device of the class described, a onepiece body element of suitable stretchable material, said body element having an elongated recess extending the major portion of its length and open at one end to enable it to be fitted snugly to the spout of a soda fountain pump, a drip pocket disposed within said body element and opening, along its top side into the lower portion of said recess, a radially extending flange disposed about the open end of said body element, a transverse slit between the ends of said pocket and recess and extending through the bottom and said walls of said body element, and a knob disposed upon the under side of said body to assist in opening said slit.

CHARLES L. ALLEN. 

